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by Tess Whitehurst

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Unicorns are not what they seem.

On the surface level, in mainstream modern culture, unicorns are all but synonymous with fluffiness and frivolity, in the form of fancy birthday cakes, festive makeup tutorials, and fussy nail art. But, dig just a tiny bit deeper, and you will discover ancient spiritual traditions from both east and west, steeped in spiritual significance that is venerable, varied, and vast.

Here are seven of the most pronounced mystical meanings of this wise and elusive creature who has managed to remain prominent in human consciousness in multiple cultures and continents for thousands of years.

1. Wonder
   It's difficult to imagine a clearer and more obvious symbol of wonder than the unicorn. The very thought of them can transport so many of us to the realm of child-like delight and awe at the relentlessly unknowable nature of time and existence. And as jaded as mainstream culture implies we should be, the fact remains that jadedness is in no way a rational response to the exquisite beauty of life: such as the beauty we witness when we feel love in our hearts, gaze at a bright blue sky, or catch the glimmer of sunlight sparkling on waves.
2. Alchemy
   Like the phoenix and the butterfly, with whom the unicorn's symbolism is traditionally wed, the unicorn represents the transformation that occurs within us when we open ourselves up to spiritual wisdom and power. Just as sunlight and rain combine to create the harmoniously balanced spectrum of color we call a rainbow, unicorns are highly attuned to the kaleidoscopic, intricate interactions of seen and unseen, known and unknown, day and night, yang and yin, the five elements, and the three realms of earth, sky, and sea. By the same token, within our consciousness, the unicorn dissolves the illusory appearance of the mundane world and reassembles it into the truer and more authentic experience of magic.
3. Purity
   It is said that only those who are pure of heart can see unicorns: they will only appear to those with the noblest of intentions. It has also been traditionally believed that a unicorn horn can transform anything toxic—even an entire swamp—into water that is sweet, crystal clear, and perfectly pure. Another legend states that as long as there is one single living human with the passionate desire to love and serve all of life, somewhere deep in the forest there is a unicorn who runs wild and free. Clearly, there is a reason the unicorn is appealing to so many of us at this time in history, when world peace is so desperately desired and purity of our oceans, forests, and air is of such dire importance to the survival of our species and planet. And on the personal level, when you close your eyes, call up the inner vision of a unicorn, and breathe deeply, you will likely feel your personal energy become purer, cleaner, and brighter.
4. Healing
   Considering the three specialties of the unicorn we have already discussed, unicorns are clearly aligned with healing: not only of mind, body, and spirit, but also of earth, ocean, and air. When we are drawn to the unicorn, it's likely a natural response to being in need of some form of healing. For example, in Treasures of the Unicorn, Ted Andrews writes, "At a recent conference, I was approached by a social worker who had spent great amounts of time in homes serving as a court representative for abused children. She mentioned finding paintings and figurines of unicorns in many of the homes...Since the unicorn is the most gentle, loving, and healing of all creatures, maybe its essence is required to restore such a loss of innocence and to stimulate a new birth." In mythology of both east and west, the unicorn was considered a master healer. The popularity of unicorns at this time coincides with a collective need to heal trauma on both personal and planetary levels.
5. Natural Power
   You might say the fairy realm is the conscious presence and aliveness of the natural world. And the unicorns are among the rarest, most magical, and most sophisticated denizens of this realm. They are traditionally aligned with the forest, as well as the healing power and wisdom inherent in crystals, herbs, flowers, trees, and animals. When the unicorn calls to you, you can inwardly connect with unicorn consciousness in order to gain mastery in working with the gifts of nature to create positive change in your life. Some of the crystals particularly associated with unicorns include amethyst, apophyllite, moonstone, and spirit quartz. Unicorns are especially aligned with certain herbs and plants, such as cinnamon, lilac, apple, water lily, holly, and clover. There are also a number of animals who have a special affinity for the unicorn, like bluebirds, deer, dragonflies, hummingbirds, and swans.
6. Courage
   Everyone knows unicorns are sweet, pure, and filled with light. But they are not doormats! In fact, they can be quite fierce and fearsome when the situation calls for it. After all, as sparkly as they may be, unicorn horns are not merely for decoration: they are sharp weapons that can be used to defend all that is loving, peaceful, and pure of heart. Again, this mirrors the need at this time in human history to channel our loving desire for peace and the planet into bold and decisive action. Indeed, when we truly connect with unicorn energy, we become inspired to move out of our comfort zone in order to help our fellow earthlings and environment.
7. Freedom
   It is said that while unicorns can occasionally be killed, they can never captured. They far prefer death to imprisonment. This makes them powerful symbols of freedom. Admittedly, traps sometimes exist purely in our minds. But, like unicorns themselves, this doesn't make them any less real. For example, when a thought pattern ties us to a negative self-image, that is a trap. So is a habit of criticizing yourself, or an expectation that you will fail. But just as you contribute to holding these traps in place, you also hold the key to liberation. Aligning with the unicorn archetype helps us to liberate ourselves from limitations and traps of all varieties. We can call upon their image and energy to break old bonds, bust through old blocks, and generally establish a sense of freedom in every area of life.

Clearly, unicorns are good medicine, and there is a reason why they're so prominent in our cultural consciousness at this time. Feeling drawn to unicorns indicates a natural desire to heal both ourselves and our world, and to restore our beloved planet to its natural state of wholeness, harmony, and well-being.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2019. All rights reserved.

I'm a 28-year-old male. The following strange events just started up again after stopping for a while. Every night when I lie down after turning out the light, I feel an entity on my bed. I can feel the mattress pressing down like someone is going to lie next to me. This starts at the foot of the bed and works upwards. (I'm awake when this is happening.) When this happens, I get bad dreams. Once in my sleep, I felt like someone was holding me down firmly. I couldn't get up. I also see shadows in the dark. One day I woke in a deranged mood for no reason, and when I got up to go outside, I felt it leave my body. My mother is a medium and she tells me to put keys under my pillow or salt and water in a cup under the bed. I really want to know what this is, and if I need an exorcism or something. When I was a child, I used to see my departed grandfather and hear voices. When my girlfriend is here or a friend is here, it doesn't bother me at all; this only happens when I'm alone. My bed is secondhand; do you think I need a new one? What should I do?

Kanoa

Astrea:

It would be unusual for you to feel you are being hounded by invisible spirits except for the fact that your mother is a medium! Naturally, you've inherited her sensitivity to subtle forces.

This entity you're sensing needs your help. She has some negativity around her that she doesn't want, and she's turning to you for help with dispelling it. She has chosen you to be the person who helps her leave the earth plane so she can find her own paradise.

Of course your mother is right. The two things she told you to do are great for fighting night terrors and bad dreams. Your nightmares are unrelated to your experience of having someone near or inside your person. Those phenomena will have to be dealt with separately from the creature that is haunting you.

Getting a new bed isn't a bad idea. It's probably not the reason this is happening, but wooden furniture can harbor spirit energy. Try that first, but be prepared for this to continue no matter where you are sleeping.

Moving to a different room might provide a temporary fix, but nothing is going to happen for good until you confront this creature and find out how to help her.

You and your Spirit Girl need to talk about what's going on. As crazy as that may sound, as long as you take the usual safety precautions (which your mother can advise you on), you won't experience any ill effects. Tell her that you will miss her when she's gone (and believe it or not, you will), but that she MUST move on. Your bed isn't big enough for the both of you, and she is beginning to cause you distress.

She'll understand. Tell her that you'll do whatever it takes to help her, and be sincere in your offer. This may have to happen more than once for her to get the message, but she WILL get it. She's stuck with you until you release her, so get on with this so you can sleep better and enjoy sweet dreams.

If there is some reason you've chosen to deny your ability as a medium, now is the time to examine that. No matter how hard you try to ignore it, eventually you're going to have to accept that the dead are going to want to communicate through you. If you don't want to be a medium, too bad: you'll have to face the fact that you're gifted like your mom is, and most likely lots of other people in your family are too.

Often psychic ability gets stronger with each generation no matter how you kids try to deny it's there. If you embrace your ability, it will cease to bother you, for you will then begin to learn how to control it.

*****

Susyn:

It sounds like you have an unwanted entity near you that you need to rid yourself of. Your mother's suggestions on how to counteract this experience are designed more for protection or deflection, and won't work on the type of spirit that is bothering you.

This entity could have come in with your secondhand bed, but even if you dispose of the mattress and purchase a new bed, you may still have a problem. It's much as it would be if you purchased an item that contained insects hidden within it: once they have come into your space, you must do more than get rid of their vehicle to be rid of them. You are going to need a spirit exterminator to take care of this situation.

Based on your description of waking in a deranged mood only to have it disappear when you leave the house, it's apparent that this entity has chosen to remain in your home and has attached itself to you. This could also be the reason you don't sense it when other people are around.

It sounds like this is a discarnate spirit, which is a spirit that is trapped between the earth and spirit world. It could have been in the house you live in before you moved in, or come in later. Either way, you will want to begin with a major cleansing of your room. If there have been incidents in other areas of the house, you'll need to cleanse them as well.

Begin by purchasing a sage smudge stick, a box of sea salt and some medium size natural quartz crystals. I recommend you purchase three crystals for your room, and if you need to cleanse the entire house, a crystal for each of the remaining rooms in your home.

Beginning in your room, light the smudge stick and allow the wafting smoke to cleanse the air. As you wave the stick around each area, command in a loud voice that every negative, uninvited and troublesome spirit leave the premises immediately. Be sure to wave the smoke around windows, door frames and all electronic equipment and outlets. I would also smudge around and under your bed thoroughly since this has proven to be a problem area.

Once you've completed the smudging ceremony, fill a small plate or bowl with some sea salt. Then place one of the quartz crystals in the salt in an upright position. Set three of these metaphysical air fresheners in your room, and one in each of the other rooms you feel might need extra protection.

If you still experience problems after this, I recommend consulting an exorcist, psychic or Spiritualist professional to clear this entity from your home.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.